Scientific American Magazine Vol 259 Issue 3

Scientific American Magazine

Volume 259, Issue 3

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Features

Civilian Casualties from Counterforce Attacks

New estimates of the number of civilian deaths resulting from nuclear attacks by one superpower on the strategic forces of the other further undermine the rationale for such attacks

Frank N. von Hippel, Barbara G. Levi, Theodore A. Postol, William H. Daugherty

Finding the Anti-Oncogene

Inheritance of certain growth-suppressing genes in a mutated form confers susceptibility to cancer. The first such gene to be isolated gives rise to a predisposition to retinoblastoma, an eye tumor

Robert A. Weinberg

Detecting Individual Atoms and Molecules with Lasers

Every atom or molecule emits and absorbs light of characteristic wavelengths. By tuning a laser to match specific wavelengths, atoms and molecules can be detected with unprecedented sensitivity

Vladilen S. Letokhov

The Insulin Factory

The pancreatic beta cell is a factory for the production of insulin. New investigative techniques give an unprecedented view of the hormone's manufacture and pathway to the blood

Alain Perrelet, Jean-Dominique Vassalli, Lelio Orci

A Close Look at Halley's Comet

The armada of spacecraft that flew by the comet two years ago provided spectacular images and data that continue to yield quantitative information about the nature of the faithful visitor

Hans Balsiger, Hugo Fechtig, Johannes Geiss

The Fossils of Montceau-Les-Mines

Some 300 million years ago central France lay at the Equator. The paleoecology of this bygone world has been reconstructed from a superb fossil cache

Cecile M. Poplin, Daniel Heyler

Plasma-Sprayed Coatings

The hot, high-speed flame of a plasma gun can melt a powder of almost any ceramic or metal and spray it to form a coating for protection against corrosion, wear or high temperature

Herbert Herman

The Discovery of the Visual Cortex

Soldiers who suffered head wounds in the Russo-Japanese War were among those who contributed to the identification of the brain's visual center and the first description of its organization

Mitchell Glickstein

Departments

Letters to the Editors, September 1988

50 and 100 Years Ago: September 1988

"Star Wars of the Seas"

Winds of Change

Now you See it ...

The Solar Inconstant

Woody Witnesses

Microwave Mystery

The Hard Shell

Thrilled to the Marrow

Safer Skies?

Phase Transition

Pitching Electrons

Clouded Crystal Ball

All Fall Down

Patent Medicine

Change Artist

Making Manufacturers

Silicon Minstrels

The Amateur Scientist, September 1988

Computer Recreations, September 1988

Books, September 1988